Hidden treasures
Sports Illustrated senior writer Jack McCallum, whose story on sports movies appears in the Feb. 6, 2001 issue of the magazine, offers up some lesser-known sports films for your consideration.
These fly under the sports-movie radar screen, but try to beat the bushes and find them. In chronological order:
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Million Dollar Legs (1932)
A lunatic musical satire of the '32 Olympics in Los Angeles; all you have to know is that W.C. Fields plays the president of Klopstokia.
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Go, Man, Go! (1954)
It's so widely (and deservedly) praised that no one points out that the stylized boxing scenes are utterly
unrealistic. |
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Three Moves to Freedom (1960)
A Nazi prisoner keeps from being brainwashed by memorizing chess moves in this German film. Fischer über alles!
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This Sporting Life (1963)
After getting clobbered in a brutal rugby game, Richard Harris (as the brute Frank Machin) does a better swollen mouth than Brando. |
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The Games (1970)
Forget Ryan O'Neal in The Champ; he and Charles Aznavour (better known as a singer) are great in this tale of marathoners at the '60 Olympics.
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Drive, He Said (1971)
This generally bad hoops flick was the directorial debut of Lakers-lovin' Jack Nicholson, who did a good job with the sports action. |
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Inside Moves (1980)
The NBA Golden State Warriors are in this dark drama directed by Richard Donner that includes credible jump shooting by David (St. Elsewhere) Morse.
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Fever Pitch (1997)
This adapation of Nick (High Fidelity) Hornby's book about his obsession with an English soccer team deserved a much wider audience. |
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Endurance (1998)
Bud Greenspan's foray into docu-drama isn't entirely successful, but the great distance runner Haile Gebrselassie's story should be told.
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